Ebook: Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

Renowned primatologist Robert Sapolsky offers a completely revised and updated edition of his most popular work, with nearly 90,000 copies in print Now in a third edition, Robert M. Sapolsky's acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction, as well as new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress. As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear-and the ones that plague us now-are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way-through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humor and practical advice, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. It also provides essential guidance to controlling our stress responses. This new edition promises to be the most comprehensive and engaging one yet. Robert M. Sapolsky is a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and a research associate with the Institute of Primate Research, National Museum of Kenya. He is the author of A Primate's Memoir and The Trouble with Testosterone, which was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist. A regular columnist contributor to Discover and The Sciences and a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius" grant, he lives in San Francisco. Robert Sapolsky's acclaimed Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers combines cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humor and practical advice to explain how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. When we worry or experiences stress, our body turns on the same physiology responses that an animal's body does, but we usually do not turn off the stress-response in the same way—through fighting, fleeing, or other quick actions. Over time, this chronic activation of the stress-response can make us literally sick. This thoroughly updated third edition, which features new chapters on sleep disorders and addictions as well as new sections on gender differences, anxiety, weight gain, post-traumatic stress disorder, and stress management, is richer than ever with insights into how the nervous system responds and how stress responses can be controlled. "Robert M. Sapolsky is one of the best science writers of our time."—Oliver Sacks "Robert M. Sapolsky is one of the best science writers of our time."—Oliver Sacks"[Sapolsky] succeeds in interpreting technical material in a way that leaves readers with an understanding of how the same physiological responses, so well suited for dealing with short-term physical emergencies, can turn into potential disasters when chronically provoked for psychological or other reasons . . . The author has a way with words . . . You will find plenty to intrigue you."—The Washington Post"Robert Sapolsky wittily dissects the anatomy of human stress-response."—The Wall Street Journal"This book is a page-turner and is anything but depressing or disheartening."—Natural History"A delightful little book."—Contemporary Psychology"Filled with delightful twists and turns, personal anecdotes, and nuggets of odd information—on voodoo death, Peter Pan, and the hunting skills of hyenas . . . First-rate science for the nonscientist."—Kirkus Reviews